The traditional Japanese food, sushi, prepared from raw and cooked fish and soured rice has become very popular in many European countries, including Denmark. A recent German study showed that sushi prepared by sushi bars had relatively high aerobic plate count levels as well as counts of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This could be a result of processing conditions and/or cooling and hygiene conditions during storage and preparation ( Atanassova, Reich, & Klein, 2008). The authors concluded that the consumers should be aware of the risk associated with such products, which should be eaten immediately or kept properly refrigerated and eaten no later than the “best before” date.
The objectives of the present study were, firstly to compare the microbial standard of similar Danish sushi products with products from other countries and, secondly to examine the extent to which food authorities detect potential deviations from compliance with own control programs by sushi bars. Thirdly, knowledge among Danish consumers of the control programs carried out by food inspectors was also examined with a special focus on knowledge about microbial monitoring.